Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and living with a chronic condition: participatory study

Abstract

BackgroundDiabetes mellitus is one of the most serious chronic illnesses in the world due to its prevalence, economic and social effects, and negative impact on the quality of life of the affected people. The diagnosis implies changes in life habits especially related to feeding, physical activity, and constant self-care, requiring greater personal autonomy.MethodsThis study aims to understand how individuals living with diabetes deal with the recognition of the chronic condition in their health care practices. This is a participatory research with a qualitative approach focusing on reflexivity. Sixteen people with diabetes mellitus were intentionally chosen, and qualified to participate in the study. The selected methodology allowed the constitution of life stories and focused on the multiple ways human beings deal with their illnesses.ResultsThe participants attended eight closed group meetings, with an specific methodology which benefited them to retrieve their own history as well as the multiple experiences to deal with the disease, here called Strategic Health Promotion Group (SHPG). The data produced and the dialogue between researcher and researched subjects were related to three major thematic perspectives: I) recognizing diabetes II) living with diabetes III) exercising personal autonomy. This work contains the meanings attributed to the Perspective I from which the following three categories emerged: The impact of the diagnosis, the denial of the illness, and the acceptance of the illness. It was observed that the diagnosis of a chronic illness generates a multiplicity of feelings, moving through narratives of complications and death events shared between generations. The participants expressed feelings related to denial or acceptance of the chronic condition which required an active adaptation exercising. From the current diagnosis, it was observed that new signs were added to the person’s existence, influencing their habits, health care practices and quality of life.ConclusionsThe emotional aspects of subjects diagnosed with diabetes mellitus strongly influence the acceptance or denial of the illness, interfering in their personal adherence to treatment. As a chronic condition, involving life-longing care practices, which intervenes in therapeutic participation, it is indispensable to respect and to encourage the personal autonomy of the subjects.

Diabetes mellitus, autonomia pessoal e práticas grupais: uma revisão integrativa

“…Em todos os trabalhos analisados, seja com abordagem quantitativa ou qualitativa, houve evidência que a prática educativa em grupo é capaz de induzir mudanças de comportamento e/ou ajudar na melhoria do controle metabólico (Marques et al, 2019;Moura et al, 2019;Aziz et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2018a;Silva et al, 2018b;Figueira et al, 2017;Macedo et al, 2017;Maia et al, 2016;Imazu et al, 2015;Merakou et al, 2015), sendo válido ressaltar que esse efeito positivo pode ter uma duração limitada, como demonstrado no estudo de Imazu (2015), que ao final de seis meses apresentou uma redução significativa dos escores para o autocuidado de indivíduos que participaram da intervenção grupal.…”

“…Em seis dos dez artigos há menção da participação do profissional enfermeiro durante a realização das intervenções, tendo isso ocorrido pessoalmente ou por contato telefônico (Marques et al, 2019;Moura et al, 2019;Macedo et al, 2017;Figueira et al, 2017;Maia et al, 2016;Imazu et al, 2015). Em sete, o componente psicológico contou como parte importante das intervenções por meio de diálogo motivacional, mudança de comportamento ou resolução de problemas (Aziz et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2018a;Silva et al, 2018b;Macedo et al, 2017;Figueira et al, 2017;Maia et al, 2016;Imazu et al, 2015). Em quatro houve a alocação de indivíduos para se montar grupos diferentes, a fim de comparar os resultados.…”

“…Dentre os estudos, destacam-se três (Macedo et al, 2017;Marques et al, 2019;Figueira et al, 2017) Além das intervenções já mencionadas utilizando algum instrumento capaz de medir estatisticamente as variações nos participantes antes e após o período de práticas grupais, há dois estudos (Silva et al, 2018a(Silva et al, , 2018b que trazem a roda de conversa como intervenção usada, o que é importante para se ter a conversação diante de um espaço que viabiliza aos sujeitos a troca e o desenvolvimento de saberes, empoderamento pessoal e, consequentemente, maior autonomia (Adamy, Zocche, Vendruscolo, Santos & Almeida, 2018).…”

The Importance of DS-14 and HADS Questionnaires in Quantifying Psychological Stress in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

“…Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most common chronic diseases [1], with steadily rising global prevalence, that is frequently associated to a psychological profile characterized by depression and/or anxiety [2]. T2DM is characterized by an increased prevalence of death, being responsible for 4.6 million deaths each year [1].…”

Improvement in Diabetic Control Belief in Relation to Locus of Control

“…Empirical evidence shows that individuals with a chronic form of the disease and receiving inadequate care have a low quality of life with poor clinical and psychological outcomes [4,5]. da Silva et al, (2018) [6] described DM to be one of the most serious chronic diseases in the world on the basis of its prevalence, economic and social effects, and the negative impact on the quality of life of affected people. This implies that changes in lifestyle habits, especially those related to eating, physical activity, and constant self-care, can play a major role in combating this illness.…”